Family is Complicated
by Miss-Inquisitive-Sci-fi
Summary: Where Captain Pike and Lieutenant Spock are caught up in a natural disaster. All alone in the dark and without help the two officers learn a little about bad luck and each other. What else would two people stuck in a small space talk about other than family? In which we found out when Spock talked to Pike about his sister: Michael Burnham. Pre-Discovery. Pike Whump. Spock Whump.


**A/N - Oh look another Enterprise era story featuring my fave Captain, shamelessly a hurt/comfort piece :D**

* * *

Chris came to with a groan. His immediate thought was why on earth was he 'coming to' in the first place, his second thought was why was he lying on the ground, and his third was why did his head feel like it wasn't attached to his body. When Pike eventually managed to open his eyes he found the situation wasn't anymore illuminating; in fact he was staring up into darkness.

He automatically tried to move his limbs, including trying to bring his hand up to work out why his eyes weren't working, but both actions were an awful mistake. Chris groaned and bit back a cry when white hot agony raced up his side, through his chest, along his arms and damn near every part of his body screamed out in misery. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed deeply, willing the pain far away into the recess' of his mind whilst he tried to work out why he was hurting in the first place.

It was when he was trying to control the agony in his chest, and the great weight that seemed to be squeezing all of the air out of his lungs that a memory flashed to the forefront of his mind. He had been in a cave… there had been some kind of earthquake event and then… nothing. That part of the memory was blanked out, all he could remember was everything going dark, a whole lot of rumbling and shifting rocks and then pain. It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened; the cave must have fallen apart around him, cutting off the natural light and entombing him in this misery.

He took a moment to steady his thoughts and try to calm his nerves. Chris wasn't naturally a claustrophobic person but waking up feeling trapped and without the ability to see wasn't a pleasant sensation. His training took over and he realised how important it was to keep his heart beating low, to reduce the rate of the blood pumping around his veins incase of open wounds, and to conserve oxygen. If the cave in cut off access to the outside world completely then it wouldn't take long for the air in here to become thin.

When he eventually managed to open his eyes for a second time the space wasn't as dark, it was difficult to see too far but once his eyes adjusted he realised there were cracks of natural light coming from somewhere, which was the first good sign in this whole sorry mess. The second thing he became aware of was that his right arm was definitely broken, or at least fractured. Each time he tried to lift his limb he felt the entire thing flare up, from his shoulder all the way down to his fingers. Thankfully his other arm was moveable; bruised but moveable.

Chris started to probe his body carefully, feeling for any obvious injuries or reasons as to why it felt like someone was sitting on his chest. He didn't have to feel far to feel the obvious, there was a large boulder-shaped object pressing down against his chest. That certainly explained why his ribs ached and the out of breath feeling. He recalled his first aid knowledge and decided that moving the item was a priority; he needed to free up his airway. Breathing first and then deal with other problems that it had probably caused.

Moving a heavy boulder wouldn't have usually been such a problem but he had no leverage whilst trapped underneath it, most of his strength had been sapped in the fall and he had a useless arm to boot. Still, he wanted to breathe so sheer force of will pushed him onwards. Chris gritted his teeth and used his good arm to try and lever the boulder off of his mid-section, shuffling his legs at the same time in an attempt to get free. It was heavier than he had planned for and it took a good minute of painful pushing and wriggling to finally make the item topple.

Pike yelled out when the sudden decrease in pressure caused something to shift inside of him, the thought that his insides weren't all in place and in one piece was nauseating but he knew it had been likely after a crush injury. He spent the next few minutes riding through the pain and revelling in the new found feeling of breathing without crushed lungs, it eased up the thudding in his head but moving the boulder had brought his attention to many more internal injuries that he'd rather not think too much about.

When he brought his hand up to his head he felt an alarming amount of stickiness on his forehead, blood dripping down his face and caked throughout his hair. The only good news was that the bleeding appeared to have stopped, he could only hope that he hadn't already lost too much blood. Head wounds were always nasty; the least of his troubles was the bleeding but he could hardly worry about that now, not whilst stuck in a cave.

_Right, the cave._

He should probably try to sit up and work out how the hell he was going to get out of this mess he had so spectacularly tumbled into. It took a lot of swearing, clutching his mid-section and fighting off the dizzying headaches, but eventually he was sitting upright and somewhat steady. When his vision cleared and a shape came into view he almost fell over in shock.

How the hell could he have forgotten about Spock? They had been walking along one of the cave's corridors, one that linked the mouth of the cave to the science station set up deep within the rocks. Transporting had been a no go because of the depth of the terrain, so teams had been beaming supplies on the surface and then carrying them along the tunnels to the forward base. They'd already been up and running for weeks and everything had been going smoothly, Spock had been almost excited to show Pike his latest findings so Chris had beamed down then this natural disaster had happened.

"Spock…" He tried to shout but his tongue was heavy and unwieldy, so really he only ended up muttering.

The Vulcan didn't respond, in fact now that Chris peered into the gloominess further he could see that Spock wasn't even conscious. Pike didn't allow his brain to even contemplate the other morbid option.

Pike dragged his body over to Spock's, calling out his name the whole way in an effort to get any sign of life from his officer. Sadly there wasn't any. Spock was laid out flat on his back and only his upper body was visible. Everything below the waist was hidden from view by boulders, Chris' eyes tracked the rocks and he gulped when he realised they formed a huge wall which was blocking one side of the tunnel. Spock was half buried under rubble, rocks and god knew what else.

The Captain put his own injuries aside and sped up the pace, already alarmed by what he was seeing. When Chris reached his side and he cursed the dim light, he could hardly see anything and he wasn't sure if Spock was simply unconscious or in a worse state. Thankfully Pike spotted his science officer's satchel nearby, he grabbed at it and smiled when he felt glow sticks inside. Pike cracked two sticks, threw one to the other side of their prison and used the other as a handheld light to get a better view of his officer.

Spock's face was pale and streaked with sticky green blood. It looked nasty but the bleeding had clearly stopped long before and wasn't Pike's main concern. He checked for a pulse with shaky fingers. Chris hadn't realised how tense he had been, or that he had been holding his breath to the point of passing out. When he felt the steady thrum of Spock's heartbeat beneath his fingers he broke out in a huge smile and felt a mighty weight lift off his shoulders. For a second there he had been starting to fear the worst; he had never seen Spock so beat up before.

Chris sobered when his eyes travelled along Spock's body further and he remembered that the majority of his body was trapped under rocks; there could be no end of damage not to mention internal injuries. Spock wasn't out of the woods, not in the slightest. Fate chose that moment for his own internal injuries to flare up in a twisted sense of irony. Pike gasped and sank back against the rock wall, clutching at his own mid-section and watching everything begin to turn black.

He gritted his teeth and banged his injured arm against the floor wanting to use the pain to bring him away from unconsciousness, Spock needed him to stay awake or they wouldn't have a chance at all. The action worked to bring him back from the edge, agony raced up his limb and he yelled out from the intensity of it.

_Yep, definitely broken._

When the Captain opened his eyes again he glanced down at Spock and was surprised to see the Vulcan's eyes were open; glassy and confused, but open. Chris automatically leaned forward. He tried to ignore the stab of pain it provoked but clearly his wince was not well hidden, because Spock frowned up at him, his calculating eyes shooting from Pike's mid-section to his pain-wracked face.

"Captain." Spock greeted him in a far too steady voice, considering the circumstances and the fact he was trapped under half a tonne of rocks.

Chris shook his head in disbelief and his eyes locked onto Spock's face, looking for the signs of pain he knew must be there underneath the Vulcan mask. "How are you feeling Spock?"

It was a rather stupid question for most people but Chris knew he wouldn't get medical information from Spock without his input, he didn't have the instruments or knowledge of Vulcan physiology to work out much for himself.

Spock grimaced slightly when he tried to move his limbs, his eyes flicked to the rubble and where his legs disappeared into it, his quick mind cataloguing everything around him as well as his injuries. He even studied Pike for a few seconds, sweeping his gaze up and down his Captain with a critical gaze.

"I am unsure of my exact injuries but I almost certainly have broken ribs and other internal bruising; my head wound is cause for concern and I cannot move nor feel my legs."

The entire spiel was delivered in such a matter-of-fact tone that Pike thought Spock could have been telling him about the weather, and not about life-threatening injuries. Even in such a state Spock was still Spock.

The two most alarming parts of Spock's words that Chris latched onto were the parts about his legs and head. He quickly flicked his eyes to Spock's lower half and eyed the boulders that were crushing him. It wasn't a pleasant idea thinking about how he was going to move them all with his broken arm but Spock needed this weight off him pronto, and the head injury… Well he would have to get the both of them out of there and to sick-bay to handle that.

"Do you think if I lift-"

Pike didn't even get to the end of his theory. Spock interrupted him, showing that he was one step ahead of his Captain even with a head injury. "Lifting the rocks would almost certainly cause a further cave in. The structure is not stable and I cannot see a safe way to remove the rubble, each route or option only has at most a 12% chance of success, furthermore-"

It was Chris' turn to interrupt. "Okay I get it." The logic was making his head hurt.

He sighed heavily and appraised the rock wall grimly, it was like a huge game of Jenga but the difference was real lives were at stake here. Chris knew that with Spock not being able to feel his legs it would be a hell of a lot better if he were out from under there, but if there wasn't a way to do it without causing a further collapse…

"Are you sure there's no way to get you out from under there Spock? We need to get blood flowing back to your legs." He stared desperately down at Spock hoping he would provide him with a miracle solution like he had done many times in the past, one look at Spock's face told him that would not be the case.

"I do not see a way to extract my legs without endangering the both of us further." Spock paused and appraised Pike carefully, focussing on his chest. "Also you are in no state to lift anything."

Pike blinked in surprise, he opened his mouth once or twice but nothing came out. Eventually he managed a strained smile and a joke. "You got X-ray vision or something Spock?"

Spock's lips curled slightly, showing his mild amusement. "No Captain but I do have eyes. Even without a physical examination I can tell you have a severe head injury, at least a mild concussion, your right arm is broken, you have several internal injuries including fractured ribs and most likely internal bleeding."

Damn. Spock was like a walking tricorder, he'd hit the nail on the head with everything Chris had already worked out and in half the time too.

"I feel okay Spock, it's more important to get you out from under there." Pike tried to argue.

Spock shook his head and looked about ready to scold him; it reminded Chris of his first officer so much that he actually did a double take. Eventually Spock's eyes snapped back to Pike's mid-section and he indicated with his hand. "If you're 'okay' then show me your chest."

Chris didn't miss the way Spock had mocked his assessment of being okay. He raised his eyebrows at his officer and the somewhat unusual request, trying and failing to stare him into backing down. Spock just stared back, holding his gaze and keeping a stoic serious expression in place. Eventually Pike gave in; he sighed and carefully unzipped his command jacket, wincing when the action pulled everything inside him the wrong way.

After a lot of swearing and grunting he peeled away the jacket and managed a glance down at his chest, even he was shocked by the smattering of bruising everywhere. There were dark angry splotches of deep red and purple all over his skin, from his ribs down to near his hips. He gulped nervously and glanced up to see Spock's reaction. The Vulcan was surprisingly emotive for a stoic man, Pike even thought he saw a grimace grace Spock's features before it was expertly masked and his eyes moved back up to Pike's face.

"That is not okay." Spock's words were edged with something else, something that Pike couldn't put his finger on but it wasn't his usual emotionless tone.

Chris sighed and leaned back against the rubble, taking deep breaths and trying very hard not to shift anything inside of him now he had seen the damage first hand. He knew he'd had internal injuries but he hadn't realised his chest was going to look like a picasso painting. Pike stared down at Spock and saw his own worry mirrored in the Vulcan's eyes, deep down and hidden to most but not those who knew him well.

"Neither of us are okay Spock."

* * *

After they had spent the next steps identifying the worst of their injuries, and just how exactly they could treat them with the little materials they had, they both moved onto how they were both going to get out of the cave alive. That meant looking for a way to communicate with the ship, or at least the other teams planet-side. Pike hoped that the science station deep within the caves had been spared this fate but honestly it wasn't likely; the quake had been huge and if it had collapsed corridors then there was no reason that it wouldn't collapse areas deeper down. Knowing that speculation was useless they both vowed to not think about the team's fate too much, not until they made contact with somebody themselves.

That was easier said than done.

Pike didn't even try to find his communicator, it wasn't attached to his side and neither he nor Spock could see it from their crumpled positions. Chris assumed it was probably buried under any one of the many boulders scattered around, which meant even if he did find the thing it would probably be broken.

Thankfully Spock's communicator was in full working order and it had been amongst his things in his satchel. Chris thought they were due a bit of luck, so it was a pleasant surprise finding the device without either of them having to strain their injuries further. His side was beginning to tighten up and ever since he'd seen the awful state of his chest he was wary of every breath, and each time something shifted inside of him it was like a knife slicing through his insides. Pike definitely had lots of loose things inside of him that should _not_ be loose.

Spock's gaze burned right through him and he was acutely aware of every wince and pain that Pike felt, even though Chris tried to cover up his reactions. Knowing it was futile to keep anything from Spock, he focused on getting a signal on the communicator to take his and Spock's minds off their respective aches and pains.

They made an agreement not to dwell on things they could not change, like Spock's trapped legs and Chris' internal injuries. All they could do was sit tight, try not to aggravate things further and focus on staying alive until Enterprise found them. Because they would find them.

Chris was reminding himself of that when the communicator finally latched onto the outside world, and with any luck it would be one of the teams on the surface.

"Enterprise come in over... Enterprise this is Pike, come in over... Does anybody read?"

Chris repeated the call over and over again but nothing came back through, not even static. He bashed the communicator with his hand and twiddled the settings, trying to boost the signal in any way. He even showed Spock what he was seeing just incase he was going mad and he'd imagined the connection in the first place.

Spock had no answers or further suggestions as to improve their communications situation, as far as he could see the messages should be leaving the cave. For some reason they just weren't receiving anything back. Following Spock's suggestion, Pike filled in whoever was listening on their situation, feeling more than a just little stupid talking to thin air. Hopefully there was someone the other end listening to his intel and their rough calculations about where exactly they were in the cave.

Pike listed everything he could see, mentioning that they were hemmed in either side and that the cave in had happened on both sides of the corridor. He also mentioned his and Spock's injuries, but focused on the fact that Spock was pinned underneath one of the walls and that the search teams should be wary of that when digging. Of course all of this was assuming that there was in fact someone listening, but Spock was pretty certain that there must be. The communicator was fully functioning and should have no problem transmitting. Of course the flip side of that was that it should have no problem receiving either, Pike wasn't going to dwell on that though. As far as he and Spock were concerned someone had heard from them and help was en route; they just had to stay alive until then.

Pike gathered the little resources they had on their person. Only Spock's satchel survived the crush and he hadn't been carrying much. He had emergency field rations so they had water for 24 hours, communicators, the lights they had used and that would remain lit for at least 24 hours and some basic painkillers. They didn't take the edge off for either of them, but it was something to do and it killed a little time.

Their conversation soon turned onto first aid and after appraising each other, they soon agreed that neither of them should try to move. Both of their internal injuries were cause for concern, especially Pike's going off of the state of his mid section. If Chris hadn't already nicked something vital by dragging himself over to Spock, then he could still do so by simply moving too fast. So he stayed where he was; by Spock's side.

After quite a bit of reluctance on Spock's end, Chris actually got him to open him about how his legs were feeling and the state of his other injuries.

Spock still couldn't feel much below the waist, he did try to move once which caused a mild panic and minor rock slide. The good news was that the action proved Spock still had some control over his lower limbs, the bad was the amount of dust the mini rock slide kicked up.

When they had both recovered from the fright Chris noticed that Spock looked a little vacant, like his eyes weren't tracking what was going on properly. It was when Spock nearly drifted off for the second time that Chris knew he needed to change tactics and keep his friend awake. Spock needed something to occupy his mind and it was vital Chris kept him talking.

He started by asking what Spock would do in this situation if he was in charge on the outside. How would he find two people in a cave when scans didn't penetrate the rocks, and if communication was out of the equation. The resulting discussion kept Spock busy for some time.

When Pike noticed Spock's words slurring and his eyes drooping again he changed the direction of the conversation, they needed something more stimulating. He started to ask which order Spock would move the rocks in if he had to, bearing in mind surviving was the preferred outcome.

Spock gave him a withering look, one which roughly translated to - 'I am not stupid.' and 'Don't you dare get up and start moving rocks.'

Pike smiled and assured Spock that this was purely hypothetical and just to consider it a mental exercise. Spock's lips thinned into a straight line and he narrowed his eyes at the Captain suspiciously, however without anything better to do Spock embarked on the exercise. That killed another 15 minutes.

Spock eventually finished his calculations and they both dropped into another silence. Chris listened for any sounds of life from the outside world but disappointingly there were none. Thinking about the rescue teams and Enterprise naturally brought his mind around to his first officer; Number One. When she found out he had gotten himself caught up in an earthquake...

"You know if we ever get out of here Number One is going to kill me."

Spock's eyebrow rose high as was his usual response to something that surprised him.

"That wouldn't be a wise course of action, Starfleet Command would not allow a murderer to continue serving aboard the Enterprise." Spock replied with his usual dry humour.

Pike had gotten better at picking up the very specific and discrete signs of Spock's sarcasm; the slight curling at the corners of his mouth and the teasing sparkle in his gaze. He chuckled. "That wouldn't stop her trust me."

Chris suddenly gasped and winced when the laughter set off the agony in his ribs; he clutched his side and took a breath until the pain subsided, glancing down at the angry marks on his chest he could have sworn had grown.

When Chris felt well enough to speak again he was far more subdued, feeling the effects of their dismal situation sapped the mood somewhat. "She threatened me the last time I got injured planet-side."

Chris glanced down at Spock and noticed the Vulcan was watching him carefully, a light frown in place as his eyes travelled from Pike's chest to his face. He inclined his head, indicating to the state his Captain was in.

"You do seem to have a penchant for receiving serious injuries." Spock pointed out matter-of-factly.

Chris thought that the statement had sounded almost like a question, like some part of Spock was curious as to how exactly his Captain ended up in these situations time and time again. Pike wished he knew but it was as much of a mystery to him as it was to his friend.

Chris managed a strained smile. "I don't ask for it Spock, believe me." He sighed heavily and dropped the remainder of his levity. With everything inside of him throbbing and burning, he just didn't have the energy to put on a strong front anymore. "Sometimes I think I'm cursed."

Spock appraised him silently and noted the change in tone. "Whilst it is true that you statistically receive more injuries than other crew-members, you also have recovered from many situations in which survival was unlikely." Spock paused mid-speech and met Pike's curious gaze. "Perhaps you think you are cursed when you are in fact lucky."

Pike scoffed and indicated his chest. "I don't feel very lucky." He was grateful that Spock was trying to get him out of a pessimistic mood even in such dire circumstances, they couldn't afford to lose hope.

Spock's eyes crinkled showing his amusement. "Nevertheless previous data has proved that it is likely you will survive."

Chris noted Spock left out himself and he vehemently corrected that oversight. "We'll both survive Spock."

Spock knew better than to argue the moot point so he simply inclined his head in agreement. Pike used the new found motivation to try the communicator again; he repeated his message from earlier including an update on their supplies and how they were both doing.

Chris noticed Spock's attention drifting whilst he was on the communicator, he started to panic internally and racked his mind on just how he was going to engage a concussed Vulcan.

"Hey Spock, look at me. You've got to stay awake."

Chris leaned forward as far as he dared and actually shook Spock when he didn't seem to hear him. Thankfully after another couple of light shoves, Spock's eyes fluttered open and he focused on Pike's face. Chris could see he was confused and struggling to remain conscious and aware.

"I do not know if I am capable of that Captain."

Chris had never heard Spock's voice crack and it scared him more than all of the blood. Pike ruthlessly shoved the panic aside and plastered on a reassuring smile. "Of course you are Spock, we just need to get you talking."

Undoubtedly that was easier said than done. They'd gone through science, equations, general chit chat; what else was there?

He glanced down at Spock for inspiration, realising how little he knew about him and his life. They'd had lots of chats before and Chris had told him most of his life story, but Spock had always been a closed book. Chris was a little curious to say the least.

"You never told me about your family."

Spock didn't give any outward reaction that informed Pike whether he was happy or upset that family had been brought up, even his response was emotionless and so very Spock. "It was never relevant."

"Well now I'm making it relevant." Chris smirked, he wasn't about to let Spock off the hook that easily. "You know about my parents, my siblings but I've never heard anything about your early life, your parents, or where you grew up?"

That did cause an outward reaction, in fact Pike was pretty sure he'd just seen Spock flinch. "There is a reason for that."

He'd assumed Spock's childhood would have been complicated, what with being a half human growing up on Vulcan but he hadn't considered such negative emotions attached to his past. "Not happy memories?"

"Not unhappy, just..." Spock took a deep breath and paused, he looked like he was reflecting on the past. "… complicated."

Pike let out a bark of laughter against his will, forgetting about the situation they were both in and that it was Spock who had just called family complicated. He quickly noticed Spock frowning at him, equal parts confused and concerned that his Captain had lost his mind. Pike stifled his laughter and explained himself. "Sorry, sorry. It's just… I think you just described every family since the dawn of man."

Spock still looked a little lost so Chris elaborated. "Families are always complicated Spock." He shrugged and looked sadly down at his friend, sympathising at just how convoluted Spock's childhood must have been. "Just some are more complicated than others."

Spock fell into quiet contemplation after Pike's declaration, the only good thing that had come from the conversation was that Spock had engaged with old memories and he didn't look like he was about pass out any second. Chris just had to keep it that way. He knew it was up to him to probe if he wanted to find out anything more, Spock was not one to offer up information freely. The problem was Pike didn't want to hit a sore spot.

He knew that Spock had a bad relationship with his father but he didn't know why or anything else about it, every time anyone had mentioned parents around Spock, the Vulcan had clammed up. So mum and dad were a no go. That thought sparked another and Chris remembered hearing about someone else in Spock's life, someone who he didn't know much about; Michael Burnham. Chris knew that she was human and had supposedly grown up around Spock, but other than that? The more he thought about the situation the more curious he became, eventually he bit the bullet and asked Spock about the mysterious figure.

"Tell me the story about Michael Burnham."

If Spock looked surprised by the revelation Pike didn't spot any sign of it, he simply followed the change in direction without skipping a beat. "What did you want to know?"

It wasn't a blanket refusal which was better than Pike had expected. Emboldened by the openness Spock was showing, Chris pressed on. "She's not Vulcan but she lived with you and grew up with you?"

"That is correct."

Succinct as always, Pike sometimes forgot he had to ask specific questions if he wanted more than just an affirmation. "How does something like that even happen?"

"Michael's parents were killed in a Klingon attack. My father took her into our family as his ward. He encouraged a sibling relationship between the two of us."

Pike's mouth hung open and his eyes widened dramatically. "She's your sister?" In all previous conversations Spock had let on that Michael was some kind of family friend or at most an acquaintance, but certainly nothing as close as a sister.

"Yes she was." Spock was staring at something behind Pike; there was a distant look on his face.

Not just that but there was something strange in Spock's eyes that Pike couldn't place, however he did note the use of the past tense. Whatever Spock wasn't comfortable with it was in the here and now, so Pike followed Spock's lead and used the past tense too. "What was she like?"

The distant look disappeared and Spock turned his attention back to Chris, a neutral expression in place. "She was smart, capable, determined and headstrong."

Pike snorted, Spock had literally just described himself. "Sounds like someone I know."

Spock almost rolled his eyes and he inclined his head. "We were alike but also different in many ways."

Chris didn't always find it easy to read Spock or his well hidden emotions, but he did pick up on something sad and longing in his voice. "Your sibling relationship, it didn't go well?"

Spock snapped to him and he suddenly looked like he was on guard again; shocked that he had been open enough for Pike to read him. He swallowed deeply and averted his gaze. "It ended poorly."

_Christ._ There was a lot to unpack there; the fact that Spock had a sibling relationship at all, the indication that it hadn't always been bad and the finality in his statement. _Ended_ was a strong word.

"When was the last time you spoke?"

Spock still refused to meet Pike's gaze. Chris could see him putting his defences back up piece by piece, hiding his emotions behind his wall.

"It's been years." He didn't sound as affected as the sentence suggested, but it did have a finality to it that Pike recognised from a mile away.

Chris knew that this was as far as he could pry, Spock was shutting himself off and the message was loud and clear: his relationship with his sister and why it ended was off bounds. Pike could respect that.

He looked down at Spock feeling sorry for having taken him to this headspace, it sounded like whatever had happened had hurt him deeply. "I'm sorry."

Spock finally looked at him and eventually nodded. It was as close as Chris was going to get to get to a thank you and it also brought the subject of family to a definitive close.

There was an awkward silence that followed and Pike was beginning to run out of ideas for conversation, so he was ecstatic for numerous reasons when he heard distant knocking and rocks began to shift behind him.

Chris and Spock shared a look, both silently asking the same question. 'Can you hear that or am I going mad?'

The next knocks were loud enough to convince both of them that this wasn't their imaginations, and the large load of rubble that fell next to them was a nasty shock that this rescue attempt could end up with them both crushed; if they didn't make it known they were against the wall.

It was also a possibility that the people digging the other side simply didn't know what they were causing, whatever the case if Pike didn't get their attention soon then they were going to crush Spock. A larger piece of rubble fell down and almost landed on them both which spurred the Captain into action.

He got to his knees and turned to face the rock wall that was becoming alarmingly unstable. Pike went to shout out but the action of turning, and getting up was too much for his broken insides to handle. It felt like a knife had just been sliced into his side and twisted in every direction, it was enough to take his breath away and cause him to collapse against the rock wall with a cry.

"Captain!" Spock yelled out and Pike felt hands try and steady him from behind.

Whatever was said next was lost by another tremble which caused a landslide of rock and dust. Chris gritted his teeth and held onto the rock face with everything he had; it was imperative now more than ever to get words out and let someone know they were burying them.

"Hey! We're in here!"

He coughed and doubled over when the stabbing pain in his gut got bad enough that his vision blurred, and his legs went weak.

"Captain you should not be attempting to stand. Your injuries..."

Another rumble cut Spock off and another load of dust fell over the both of them, covering some of the light sources they had and darkening the space even more. Chris breathed in deeply and clutched his mid-section, it felt like something had torn loose inside of him; several somethings.

He glanced back up at the rumbling rock wall and yelled for all he was worth, banging his fists against the top of the wall and hoping to hell that someone heard him. Pike had no idea how long he was yelling for, but it got to the point where his throat began to get sore and the air was thick with dust. When he coughed he ended up doubling over and losing his footing. Chris fell to the floor in a heap and groaned when his broken arm smashed into the floor. The all-encompassing pain shooting up his arm was the only thing keeping him from passing out.

A sharp tug inside his chest got him up off the floor and coughing his lungs out, he glanced at his hand and was dismayed to see splattered blood. Come to mention it he now realised he could taste blood in his mouth, and feel it in his throat...

Pike didn't have much time to contemplate just how badly his insides were messed up to cause the bleeding, before a rumble worst than any of the previous one shook the walls apart around them.

Chris thought of one thing and one thing only: protecting Spock. Without a second thought he leapt over his friend's body and shielded him with his own. He made sure to cover Spock's head and ignored the hands trying to push him off, and the voice telling him to get clear and out of the way. Pike hugged his chest tighter and fell into a coughing fit, feeling his insides twisting and grinding inside him. He gritted his teeth and tried to put aside the burning and focus on keeping him and Spock alive. That was going somewhat well until something heavy hit the back of his head and everything went dark.

* * *

Chris awoke to bright lights, dust-free air and the glorious sound of people talking. Wherever the hell he was it clearly wasn't the cave, and frankly that was enough for him.

His good mood lasted until he opened his eyes properly and his head thudded angrily in protest. He tried to cover his eyes with his hand which was another mistake; firstly the arm he had tried to use was restrained in some kind of sling, secondly trying to pull on said arm set off all of his other injuries and various alarms around him.

Chris moaned against the misery and bit back a curse, why did this bad shit always happen to him?

"He's coming around."

"We're going to need to administer a higher dose of painkillers."

_Ah painkillers._ That sounded like a wonderful idea. The mysterious floating voices heard his prayers; he felt something press against his neck and everything began to feel fuzzy and lighter. The pain clinging to him fell away piece by piece and Chris sunk back into the soft pillows and revelled in the blissful feeling. He was so relaxed he didn't even remember passing out.

His second time coming around was far less dramatic. He immediately recognised sick-bay and he suffered no ill effects when opening his eyes. His body felt stiff and sore but the agony from earlier was gone, Boyce had clearly gotten the dosage just right. Speaking of the good Doctor, Chris focused on the figure closest to his bed and eventually Phil's features came into view. When he noticed Pike looking at him he smiled and wrote a few things down on a data pad, taking readings every now and again and poking his patient numerous times.

"Back with us?" Boyce asked in an amused tone.

Pike glanced from the Doctor to his most immediate surroundings. "It would appear so..." He trailed off when he saw that Number One was leaning over him on the other side, and she was shooting him a furious glare.

The look scared the living hell out of him and he almost gave into the urge to shuffle back in his bed, or even hide beneath the covers. Instead of doing either of those things Chris froze in place and his mouth snapped shut. He could hear from his monitor that his heart rate was increasing dramatically; he could feel it thudding away beneath all the bandages wrapped around his chest.

Una narrowed her eyes at him then turned her attention to his beeping monitor. She frowned heavily and sought Boyce. "Is he going to be okay?"

Chris wanted to know the answer to that question too, he'd just woken up and Una already looked ready to kill him. This reaction was far worse than he had feared.

Boyce actually chuckled and turned the alarm off with a flick of his wrist, he threw Pike a knowing look and calmed the pair of them down with his diagnosis. "He's stable and should be fine in a few days."

Una visibly relaxed a notch, so did Chris. Earlier it had felt like his insides were tearing themselves apart so hearing that he was stable, and seeing that he was in sick-bay was a dream come true.

"Good." Una replied in a clipped tone before turning her hard glare back onto the bed-ridden patient.

Chris didn't know what to expect next but he certainly didn't expect his first officer to raise her palm and slap his good arm. Pike snatched his arm away from the unprovoked attack and yelped in surprise; he was on a hell of a lot of drugs but he still felt the sting from the blow.

"Owww." He moaned dramatically and hugged his abused arm tighter into his chest, careful to avoid all the bandages and his sling. Chris had literally just woken up after having a cave fall on top of him, and Una was already looking to cause him more harm? He was far too groggy and drained for this bout.

"What the hell was that for?" He muttered whilst trying his hardest to look wounded enough to stop any further slaps from landing.

Una's nostrils flared and her eyes widened dangerously, she glared at him fiercely and for a second Chris though she was actually going to attack him for real. He sank back further into his bed and hugged his chest miserably. Mercifully the wounded look worked for him.

Number One glared at his injuries and lingered on his chest, which was swaddled with so many bandages that Chris could barely move. She sighed heavily and when she met his gaze again he saw pity there, she didn't have the heart to stay _that_ angry at him when he was in this state.

That didn't stop her from staying generally peeved though, she narrowed her eyes at him and her muscles tensed up as she fought to control her temper. Chris would go so far as to say that this cold fury was far more scary and dangerous than Una flying off the handle bars.

She took a deep breath and explained exactly why Pike had earned her ire. "For damn-near giving me a heart attack!"

Pike winced when he heard the bite and heat in her words, she was still sore even though she was trying very hard to control it.

Una noticed his flinch and she looked away to compose herself, and to try to reduce the sheer amount of anger she was projecting. "Jesus Chris, you nearly died down there. When the teams found you they thought you _were_ dead."

Down there... wait he hadn't been alone down there... The stray thought hit Pike like a lightening bolt and he started to sit upright in bed.

"Where's Spock, is he okay?"

Una rolled her eyes but she nodded and moved out of the way, giving Pike clear line of sight to the other beds in sick-bay. One of those beds was occupied by Spock who had a data pad in his lap; he was sat upright and propped up by a mountain of pillows.

Chris studied him carefully, his eyes flicked from his face all the way down to his legs. Spock certainly looked a hell of a lot better than in the cave; his face had been cleaned up and he appeared to have his usual colour back. His legs weren't in plaster nor did they appear to be undergoing any treatment, all pointing to the fact that there was no major damage.

Spock watched him carefully throughout his scan and when Pike was finished he tipped his head warmly. "I am well Captain."

Chris narrowed his eyes at Spock suspiciously, he didn't trust Spock's self-assessment especially after the state he had been in planet-side. He turned to Boyce with his incredulous expression, and the Doctor smirked between the two before reiterating Spock's diagnosis.

"He's gonna be fine Chris, a bit banged up but nothing we couldn't fix here. Some nasty crush injuries and we had to do some physio for his legs, but he'll be back to light duties in a few days."

Boyce turned his attention back onto his primary patient. "You on the other hand took the brunt of the injuries."

He turned on an x-ray viewer and brought up all of the scans of Pike's insides. Chris leant back into the pillows and balked at the sheer amount of damage he saw, it only got worse when Boyce flicked through the different screens and explained the amount of operations he had already been put through. His hunch about multiple internal injuries had been correct; in the end his shattered ribs had ended up piercing a lung as well causing severe internal bleeding. The medical team had to work quickly to stop him from haemorrhaging from the inside out.

Pike's arm had actually been broken in two places, which definitely cleared up why it had been so agonising to move down there. It was in a cast and would be for some time which made Chris particularly miserable. What made him even more miserable was seeing Una's thunderous expression at the end of Boyce's spiel.

She turned her murderous gaze from the nightmarish charts to Chris, her eyebrows were raised so high that they were almost disappearing into her hairline. Number One swallowed down her rage and pointed a perfectly manicured finger towards his face. "You are never leaving this ship again."

Pike glanced from the finger under his nose to his first officer, eventually finding his voice despite the intimidating glare heading his way. "That's a bit extreme Una, I'm not made of glass."

"Your history says otherwise."

"Look, a natural disaster is not my fault nor was it foreseeable."

For some reason his defence seemed to be making Una more irate, and when he said foreseeable she breathed in sharply. She stabbed a pointed finger into the un-bandaged part of his chest and proceeded to rip his defence to shreds.

"Whilst that's true what is _foreseeable_ is if you go clambering up boulders with serious internal injuries you are liable to bleed out, and I'm not even going to mention you diving over Spock as a bloody human shield."

Chris blinked in surprise; the surprise morphed into a wounded expression as he did the math. Pike turned to Spock and frowned heavily. "You told her?"

Spock's expression was the picture of innocence. "I wrote the full incident in my report."

Chris couldn't tell if Spock had told on him for his own good or simply because he felt the need to compile an accurate report for Number One. Either way it stung a little, so he let the betrayal seep into his voice. "You could have left that bit out Spock."

Spock retorted instantly. "Vulcan's do not lie, Captain." Pike didn't think Spock sounded sorry about the explosion his report had set off. In fact if Chris knew any better he would say that Spock was enjoying the display.

Chris glanced from Spock to Boyce and then finally to Number One. Not one of them had an ounce of sympathy on their face, and Boyce even looked amused that his usual chastising role had been shared out on this occasion.

All the talking and raised voices had given Chris quite the migraine; his head began to thud painfully and he groaned dramatically. "Put me back in the cave, anything is better than you all attacking me."

Boyce barked a laugh and shook his head in amusement. "We're not attacking you Chris, we just want you take better care of yourself."

Chris sensed someone approach him and saw that the Doctor had taken pity on his pain, and was in the process of delivering more painkillers.

Boyce noticed Pike studying him; he smiled sadly down at his all-too-regular patient. "Enterprise cannot afford to lose her Captain."

"Too right she can't." Una agreed vehemently.

Pike braved a look back at his first officer and was pleasantly surprised to see that her initial heat had died down. She seemed far calmer now and she was busy flicking her eyes up and down his heavily bandaged body. Una suddenly gripped a hold of his good hand and squeezed tightly, something vulnerable appearing in her expression which shut Chris up and stalled any pithy comeback he had in mind.

She swallowed hard and met his gaze. "Don't scare us like that again."

Pike felt overwhelming guilt begin to drown him as he saw how scared Una was. This was where all the shouting and outbursts had come from; from fear and for worry of losing him. Chris squeezed back and sighed. He knew she meant well and only wanted to be a good XO and friend, it couldn't be easy keeping him in one piece. "I promise I'll be more careful."

He took a deep breath, flicking a nervous gaze to Boyce before taking the plunge. "But I am going to have to leave the ship at some point Una, you know that."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, it was enough for Chris to want to shrink away again but he held her gaze. Eventually she nodded although there was a wicked glint in her eyes. "Maybe we'll just have to surround you with bubble wrap."

Pike heard Boyce snort from his right and he even spied a half-smile from Spock across the room. He however was not amused, he glared at Una and his face fell.

"Ha ha." He retorted sarcastically.

Una's eyebrow shot up in amusement and she leaned in so only the Captain would hear her next words. "The funny thing is I'm not joking."

Before Chris could protest such dramatics Una leapt away from his bedside and stood at the foot of his bed, wagging her finger at him. "Now, you are going to stay in sick-bay until Boyce deems you are well enough to leave, you are not to bargain your way out of here or bargain any form of work in here."

Chris was still reeling from the threat with the bubble wrap. "But-"

"Ah ah, no buts." Una interrupted firmly. "No work allowed at all. If I find out you've so much as logged onto a terminal I'm gonna have Boyce sedate you for a week."

Pike's mouth snapped shut and he felt well and truly chastised; the threat was definitely something he could see Boyce doing. If he was honest he was a little scared, he had joked with Spock that Una would kill him but this was worse. His first officer was on a power trip and clearly it had gone to her head.

Una smirked triumphantly when she noticed his stunned and silent expression. "Clear?"

Pike just nodded numbly. If he had thought the sedating-for-a-week thing was a joke one look at Boyce's face informed him otherwise. The Doctor was smiling deviously and he was even twirling a hypo spray in his hand, proving that he would like nothing more than to carry out the threat. Chris gulped hard; he would have to walk on eggshells whilst he was in sick-bay.

Una beamed happily and she started to make her way out of sick-bay; she called back over her shoulder in a jovial tone. "If he gives you any trouble you have my permission to sedate him." With that final threat delivered she was gone.

Pike stared after her open-mouthed and in a state of shock. He hadn't realised Una would go so mad; usually he got a telling off but he must have really scared her this time.

"Don't worry I will." Boyce muttered back mostly to himself but Pike heard all the same.

He shot his so-called friend a dark look. "Whose side are you on?"

Phil snorted and laughed. "The side of peace and quiet my friend." The Doctor made some notes on Pike's chart and wandered away to his office, after imploring that Chris should get some rest.

With Boyce gone, Pike turned his attention to the only other person in the room: Spock. The Vulcan had been watching the entire exchange and had looked increasingly amused throughout, the corners of his eyes were crinkled and his lips had pulled into what could almost be considered a smile.

Chris pouted at him and slumped back dramatically. "You didn't help."

Spock's eyes sparkled with humour. "Apologies Captain."

Even though it was supposed to be an apology, Chris detected absolutely no trace of remorse. He narrowed his eyes at his friend but lacked the strength or will power to keep up the act of being mad. He was so drained, emotionally and physically. Pike sank further into his pillow and stifled back a yawn. Why was he suddenly so tired?

The further time dragged on the more Pike realised that he was starting to feel really groggy, his eyelids were drooping and his limbs felt heavier than lead. He glanced around the room suspiciously but there was no sign of Boyce or any nurses.

He turned to Spock who had gone back to reading his data pad. "Why do I feel like I've been drugged?" Even his words were beginning to slur.

Spock glanced at him over the top of his pad, his expression was blank but his lips curled up slightly. "Doctor Boyce administered a sedative when you first woke up, one that would come into effect after a short while."

Chris swore and slumped backwards dramatically. "That traitor." He couldn't believe Boyce would stoop so low, well actually he could...

Spock watched on amused as his Captain's words grew more slurred and incomprehensible, his limbs more unwieldy and his eyes closed bit by bit. Eventually the effects of the sedative took over and Pike fell back into the land of sleep, mid rant over how he was going to make Boyce and Number One pay for their treachery.

Spock was actually disappointed when the Captain finally did succumb to the effects of the drugs, the idealised revenge ideas had sounded quite creative, not to mention amusing. He vowed there and then to never end up on the receiving end of Captain Pike's revenge planning.

_Finis_


End file.
